Improvement in fare-boxes



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MGi/1705666'. 72 20K l l Mn ilNITED STATES OFFICE.

PATENT J. B. SLAWSON, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

IMPROVEM ENT` IN FARE-BOXES.

To all whom t may concern: p 4Be it known that I, J. B. SLAWSON, of New Orleans, parish of Orleans, and State of Louisiana, haveinvented anew and Improved Box for Collecting Fares in Omnibuses, Sto.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specication, in which- Figure 1 represents a transverse vertical section of this invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same.

Similar letters of'reference indicate like parts.

This invention relates to certain improvements on a box for collectingl fares for which a patent has been granted to me August 31, 1858. 1

The principal object of this present invention is to arrange the box so that it is adapted for currency as well as for coin, that the tare deposited in the box can be seen by the driver as well as by the passengers, and, furthermore, that the possibility of with drawing from the box a portion of the fares deposited there in is absolutely prevented.

A represents a box, made of wood or other suitable material, and intended to be secured in the end of an omnibus, street-car, or other conveyance in a convenient position for the passengers and for the driver or person having charge of said conveyance. FromV the interior of the omnibus, car, or conveyance access is had to said box through an aperture,` c, large enough to admit goin or currency to the amount of one or more fares, and the money dropped into said opening` slides down over a series of inclined planes, b c d, placed in a zigzag form at suitable distances apart, as clearly shown i1 Fig. l of the drawings. These inclined planes .are made of glass or other smooth, and, if desired, transparent, material, and their inner edges are protected by metal frames e e j".

The frames e c of the upper inclined planes, b c, are provided with knifeedges g, which are intended to prevent the operation of Withdrawing from the box a portion of the fares deposited therein by means of an elastic stick or whalebone, or other soft material, which might be inserted, but on being withdrawn it would be retained by the knife-edges.

Between the metal frames of the two lowest inclined planes and the edges of said inclined planes I leave recesses h, which are undercut, as shown, so that a steel spring or other hard and smooth material, on being introduced through the apertures a, will catch with its end in said recesses, and that the money once dropped into the box A is absolutely safe against any attempt to withdrawa portion thereof by fraudulent means.

0n sliding from the lowest inclined plane the money deposited in the box A lodges on the tilting platform t', aud while lying there it can be plainly seen by the driver through the pane of glass j, and by the passengers through the pane of glass 7c. If bad money or an incorrect 'are is deposited in the box therefor, it can be easily detected, and the person having deposited such fare can be called upon at once to correct the mistake.V

A rod, Z, which extends from the platformt to the drivers stand, serves to tilt said platform, causing the money resting on it to slide down into the drawer B. This drawer is made of iron, and it is locked with a safe-lock, so that its contents cannot be tampered with.

By these improvements a box is obtained,

which prevents, as near as possible, all frauds which otherwise are perpetrated by the drivers or other persons having charge of public conveyances, and such persons, having no opportunity to fall into dishonest practices, preserve their good character, and even persons of little moral strength can be readily placed in charge of an omnibus, Streetcar, or other public conveyance, provided the same is furnished with one of my boxes.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The inclined planes b c d, arranged in a zigzag form and provided with knife-edges g, in combination with the box A,.constructed and operating substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The recesses h, at the lower ends of the inclined planes c d, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

J. B. sLAwsoN.

Witnesses WM. F. MCNAMARA, ALEX. F. RoBEE'rs. 

